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Jerome "Chef" Garcia
Jerome "Chef" Garcia was a recurring character in The Jumping Ground. Chef was killed off in the show's eighteenth season debut episode "Town in the Dumps", following the departure of his voice actor Gabriel Iglesias, who decided that then was the "appropriate time" to do so. Background As his nickname implies, Chef was a school cafeteria cook at The Langham and former member of City Council as "Head of Public Safety". He was the only adult that the kids (PuffPuff, Rob, Lance, and Zowie) consistently looked to for advice. A typical exchange between Chef and the boys goes as such: :Chef: "Hello there, amigos!" :Kids: unison "Hey, Chef." :Chef: "How's it goin'?" :Kids: or all "Bad." :Chef: "Why bad?" Chef used the word "amigos" often, even for a singular child. For example, he referred to Cartman as "amigos" in "Within the Serpent's Grasp" and "Spontaneous Combustion," Stan in "Meridian," and Melvin in "Unnatural Selection". He also tended to use "fudge" as a euphemism for "fuck," particularly in early episodes. While most of the inhabitants of Pencaster are Caucasian, Chef was one of the very few residents in town who was Mexican; in fact the only other black people to consistently live in Pencaster are Tobias and his parents, who were not prominent characters until the fourth season. As a result, Chef (usually affectionately, though not always) referred to most people in town with the racial slur "crackers", often "cracker-ass", including the children. Gabriel Iglesias Leaves The Jumping Ground On August 14, 2014, Gabriel Iglesias was reported to have left The Jumping Ground after seventeen years, as he had decided that then was the "appropriate time" to do so, His departure was confirmed through this following tweet on his Twitter feed: "So farewell Jumping Ground - it's been an awesome 17 years of fun working on a worthwhile show but now it's time for me to put the spatula to one side and throttle back. Adios" Explaining his decision in a statement released on the official Jumping Ground website, Iglesias, whose contract expired at the end of September, said: "I've been pondering my departure from The Jumping Ground for a while and have decided that year 17 is the appropriate time. So I leave with relief, tinged with regret. Anyone can do what Chef has been doing, but it takes stamina to follow the kids hangin' out week after week, and my stamina is not up to those long weeks any longer, So after the Season 18 premiere airs on September 24, I will no longer be part of this wonderful show. For the past seventeen years the whole team working on the how have been like a family, and it has been an awesome privilege to work with both Lee Eisenhower and Conrad Vernon on such a wonderful series, and I hope they carry on that way in the future." Death Initialy, producer Ryan Todd ruled out any possibilities of Chef being the character that dies in the Season Eighteen premiere, following Iglesias' departure from the series, stating that the character would simply be retired than killed. However, Chef's fate is sealed as it indeed turns out that he is the character that dies in the episode. Chef's role had minimalized throughout the series. In the episode, Chef retires from his job after being appalingly being mocked at a stand up show at the annual Groundbridge Program Conference. He then decides to join the Super Adventure Club, another squad committed to Groundbridge-related search and rescue, in which also combines outdoors activities with sex tourism and bizarre religious beliefs, some of which seem akin to those held by the real-life Church of Scientology. At the end of the episode, Chef was burned, battered, impaled, shot, his face, including one eyeball, was pulled off, and his limbs were torn apart by a grizzly bear and a mountain lion, and he finally defecated as he died. Darth Chef Chef's body was secretly recovered by the Super Adventure Club, who managed to revive him as a "Darth" Chef, mimicking the ending to Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. He was revived by the Super Adventure Club in a Darth Vader-esque suit (albeit with a helmet similar to a chef's hat) and was given a red spatula lightsaber. After that, the Super Adventure Club leader Connelly began the scene, which parodies Revenge of the Sith: :Connelly: "Chef, can you hear me? Say something!" :Darth Chef: respirator-assisted Vader-like breathing "Hello there, amigos. How would you like some Salisbury steak?" :Connelly: "Yes, go on!" :Darth Chef: "And for dessert, how would you children like to suck on my chocolate salty balls?" :Connelly: children's voice "Oh, you mean like a chocolate candy?" :Darth Chef: "No, I mean MY BALLS!" Connelly, as a parody of Darth Sidious, was very happy about Darth Chef's reply and responds with an evil laugh. Darth Chef's voice was provided by Peter Serafinowicz, who voiced Darth Maul in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. However, since then, he has not reappeared. Darth Chef does, however, appear along with many other characters in the background of The Jumping Ground opening sequence. While he is in Chef's place in the crowd of waving townspeople beginning right after "Town in the Dumps", the clip of him waving is inserted into the opening beginning in "Danger, Sweet as Honey". Instead of waving, he is seen threateningly activating his lightsaber/spatula. It should be noted the name "Darth Chef" has been generally accepted by fans, but is never actually used on the show. It is, however, mentioned on Jumping Ground Studios. Aftermath After Chef died, the children were never seen getting lunch again until "The Magic Bush", and it was unknown who replaced Chef. However in "The Budget", Le Chef greeted the kids happily and had a conversation with them, meaning it is likely Le Chef took on the role again, since his appearance in "French Fried". 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